Judge: Glassdoor reviews aren’t “political,” so feds can grab user identities

(credit: Newspaper Club / flickr)

An appeals court will soon decide whether the US government can unmask anonymous users of Glassdoor-and the entire proceeding is set to happen in secret.

The 9th Circuit case was flagged yesterday by Public Citizen attorney Paul Levy, who intends to submit an amicus brief in the case. In Levy's view, the case involves "a significant free speech issue bearing on the rights of anonymous Internet users."

Federal investigators sent a subpoena asking for the identities of more than 100 anonymous users of the business-review site Glassdoor, who apparently posted reviews of a company that's under investigation for potential fraud related to its contracting practices. The government later scaled back its demand to just eight users. Prosecutors believe these eight Glassdoor users are "third-party witnesses to certain business practices relevant to [the] investigation." The name of the company under investigation is redacted from all public briefs.

Read 12 remaining paragraphs | Comments